


The Asterfield Secret

by TardisGhost



Series: The Crow and the Beast [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Aliens, Almost Kiss, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Humor, Mystery, Riddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-05 07:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16363547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisGhost/pseuds/TardisGhost
Summary: The Doctor, the Master and a young woman get involuntarily dragged into an old mansion and are presented with a lot of oddities. Worst of all: They have to work together to get out of it.





	1. An unlikely team

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably a bit trashy... but hey, I had fun writing it. xD

 

This is the story of an unlikely team, being drawn into the events of the Arsterfield Mansion, on the night of Halloween, where the veil between worlds is thin and brittle.

The first, who noticed the change, was the Doctor. He had fallen asleep in the library, in which he had been kept hostage for almost a week now. Suddenly a draft of cold air blew through his hair and as he opened his eyes the surrounding area couldn't be more different, since he now sat on the floor of a huge, but dark kitchen. Empty chains hung from the ceiling and pans and other dishes littered the trays around him.

"That's a weird dream!", he sounded exited. "I usually don't dream at all... but this..." His hand moved over one of the trays and felt dusty afterwards. This place certainly wasn't inhabited anymore. He fished inside his jacket after the Sonic Screwdriver, but couldn't find it there. Of course... the Master had taken it from him after all.

The second, who noticed it, was said Master, successfully resurrected and busy crafting a new plan to overthrow earth  _and_  his favorite enemy.  It had been a long day filled by the constant blabbering of his annoying hostage. Tiredness overcame him and he closed his eyes for a few seconds, only to fall asleep, still sitting in his armchair, that suddenly felt different, very different. Jolting awake the Master found himself resting in a different, but comfy old chair, holding a book from Charles Dickens in his hands. 

"What the hell?" He jumped up, spinning around in the room that was only faintly illuminated by the pale light of the moon that fell through the dusty windows of the library. Hastily he checked his pockets and was glad to find his laser-  _and_  the sonic screwdriver. Whatever this was, in the end he could surely just blow it up.

The last to notice was Roka, who fell asleep after a long day. She had been extremely tired, cause spending your days with the Master was exhausting. He kept her hostage and due to circumstances too insignificant for this tale, she was helping him with a certain task, while also trying to free the Doctor from his grip. Suddenly though she jolted awake, because something had brushed her leg. And, still a bit groggy in her head, she realized that she wasn't laying on the old sofa anymore, but inside a huge and very comfortable, but dusty bed.

"That's... new", she mumbled, while carefully looking around. The faint moonlight barely let her see anything. Something brushed against her leg again and horrified she realized that, whatever it was, the thing was under her blanket. Not even the Master scared her usually, but now she felt a silent cold fear creeping up inside her.

The thing moved again. It had to be rather small, Roka realized. Not much bigger than a... She threw the blanket away and with a smile stared into the yellow glowing eyes of a black cat. Perplex it stared back at the suddenly appeared human, then sprang to the ground and ran away into the shadows.

Meanwhile the Doctor had finished inspecting the abandoned kitchen and was now carefully moving through equally old halls. Big and dust covered spider webs filled the corners and spun themselves over old statues and fancy wooden furniture. This place must have been abandoned for ages.

At the same time the Master was still inside the old library, slowly walking down the rows of bookshelves. He had found a candle and had lit it with his laser screwdriver. The youngest titles were all from about fifty or so years ago and there was barely one he hadn't read already. How disappointing. If he had to be stranded here, there could be at least something interesting to pass the time. And what a shame... most of the old tomes were bridling and crumbling or covered in mold. Someone would get punished for this crime, he decided.

A distant creak let him spin around, almost extinguishing the candle flame. There it was again, here inside the library with him and very... very close. The laser in one hand he sneaked along the shelves, carefull to not make noise himself. There was a shadow moving! Now wiping the flame on his own he sneaked up behind the rather small figure and swiftly placed a hand on their mouth and another one around their torso to prevent them from moving. Then he dragged the struggling person towards one of the windows and with surprise saw that it was Roka.

"What are  _you_   doing here?", he asked perplex while earning himself a very mean look from her. "Be quiet, okay?" She nodded and he let go.

"What have you done  _now_?", she hushed sourly. "Where are we?"

"Hey, not everything is my fault!", he protested, forgetting the part about being silent and Roka lay a finger on her lips. "I have no idea what happened." He added more quietly.

The creaking started again and this time both spun around. It hadn't come from inside, but probably from the hallway. They looked at each other and the Master nodded. Suddenly a very well functioning unit the two moved towards the door, watching each other's backs and checking every shadow.

The door handle slowly moved down and the Master pointed his laser at it. Quickly Roka pushed down his arm and shook her head.

With a loud and slow creak the door opened and inside peaked a familiar spiky mane, followed by the face of the Doctor, who, with squinted eyes, observed the shadows and was startled when he saw the other two all of a sudden.

Immediately the Master took up the laser again. "That's your doing, Doctor! Where have you brought us!?"

"Put that down!" Roka grabbed his arm, but he was too strong and just pushed her out of the way.

"Hey, hey!" The Doctor put up his hands. "No need to get threatening, old friend. I swear, I have nothing to do with this trickery!"

"You're not locked away, that's enough reason to kill you!" The laser screwdriver pointed at the Doctor's hearts.

Roka stepped between the two, not sure it was a good idea, because the Master surely wouldn't hesitate to simply shoot her first. "Can we just calm down... please?" She looked at both in turns. "At least until we found out what we stumbled into."

The Doctor's face got brighter when he finally saw her. Like always it took him some time. After all, Roka was a glitch in reality and so far only the Master had proven to be able to see her at all times.

A sigh came from the Master and he complied, putting his laser down. "One wrong move, Doctor... just one. I swear, I will do something really... really bad to you."

The Doctor took his hands down again and looked around. "Ohhhh, a library! I love libraries." He looked as if he was about to just rush towards the shelves, but then pulled himself together. "Err... alright. Let's see, what we know so far, shall we?" A very happy smile came to his face. Having no clue was one of his very favorite things in life.

They got to the unlit fireplace and the Master rushed towards the comfy chair to sit in it with crossed arms before the Doctor could. So the other man just leaned against the cold stone, while Roka slumped down on the dusty ground.

"Has any of you two seen someone in here?", she asked. "The only other living thing I've seen was a black cat."

Both shook their head.

"This seems to be an old mansion though." The Doctor stated the evident. "And from the taste of its air and the condition of the building and everything... I guess no one was here for about..."

"...fifty or more years." The Master ended the sentence, rolling his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing. "And some stupid, probably alien, thing was so bold to teleport us here." Annoyed he ruffled through his hair. "Two Time Lords and one glitch. We probably send out a pretty nice signal. Although it still doesn't make a lot of sense."

Roka got up again, cheerfully looking around. "I bet there are some reeeally creepy things in here! And maybe some ghosts too!"

"There are no such things as ghosts, you stupid human!" The Master sighed annoyed.

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that." The Doctor winked towards Roka. "But in any case..."

He never came to finish the sentence, because suddenly a loud and deep grumbling made the entire building vibrate violently, followed by a whispering and a scratching noise that seemed to come from all around them, creeping closer and closer towards their position. No... not all around.

It came from within the walls.

Agile as a cat the Master sprang up and blasted a hole through the nearest wall. Immediately the noises stopped and he turned around to the others with a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"See... nothing to..." Something rushed through the room, brushing against his head, which made him jump and flail around in the air to get rid of it. "Gaahh! Get it off!"

Roka laughed out loud and a few seconds later the thing was gone. "Whatever was in that wall, you set it free. Good job." Sarcasm gleamed in her gaze when their eyes met.

"Well...", the Doctor looked around. "... seems you ran it off. Do you happen to have my sonic with you, Master? Could be useful here..."

"No! And no, you won't get it! Not even for a second!", he shouted angrily at the Doctor.

Roka though was very sure she had seen him wielding the thing before... For a second she pondered about something, then she stepped closer to the Master, staring up to him. "You know..." she began."Since we might die here..." And before he could react, she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him very, very tightly.

"What the hell!", he shouted, pushing his hands against her head. "Doctor! Get your human off of me!"

A giggle resounded and Roka let go of him, moving a few steps away, now wearing a mischievous grin. "I always wanted to pickpocket you." Triumphant she held up the Sonic Screwdriver and handed it to the Doctor.

The Master pointed his laser at her. "You...!"

"I get no readings around here...", the Doctor interrupted. "Master... do her any harm and I'll just leave you here." He seldom sounded threatening, but right now his voice was very calm, which was almost as bad.  
  
Angrily sighing the Master let his laser screwdriver sink.   
  
"Good!" Now a wide smile spread on the Doctor's face again. "We really should search the building. There has to be a source for all of this. And some teleportation device too."

"We could hold a séance", Roka suggested happily. "You know, like directly summoning the old spirit and ask what it wants from us."

"Ohhh, like in those old movies, right?" The Doctor replied. "There are candles around and..."

"What stupid nonsense..." The Master interrupted. " Do that alone, I'm off." And he moved towards the door.

"The more people the safer." Roka explained. "As long as we don't let go of each other's hands at least."

"Tzz... reason enough to vanish..."

"Huh, why?"

"I certainly won't hold hands with  _him_!" He pointed at the Doctor, wearing a disgusted frown.

"I doubt it's a real ghost anyway." The Doctor added. "Though a proper séance would have been fun."

"Maybe it's best, we split up", suggested Roka. "The mansion is huge. It would take ages if we stay together."

"No!" The Doctor said firmly. "That's too dangerous. Especially for you, young lady."

"Hey!"

"You come with me, shrimp." The Master suddenly stated. "No way I let you two plot something against me. And you make a good meat shield. We'll take the upstairs. You can have the creepy basement, Doctor" He ignored the other's warning look and left the room, dragging Roka along.


	2. Riddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spooky mansion has it's traps, watch out!

The Doctor stayed inside the library for a few minutes, scanning this and that without finding anything useful. No traces of the entity that had fled the room. So he left too and headed down the corridors, while holding up his screwdriver, constantly scanning for strange signals and sticking his curious head through every door he came across.

When he pulled himself out of another door frame he suddenly saw a music box sitting a few steps away in a beam of moonlight. And it certainly hadn't been there before! How exciting! Carefully the Doctor stepped towards it, screwdriver pointing in its direction. No signals came from it though, so he crouched down, sliding a finger over the lid. No dust.

"I wonder what sweet tune you might play." Happily he opened the box. A typical ballerina greeted him and carefully he wound up the old mechanism to make her dance. The sad and also a bit crooked melody of an old children's song filled the stale air. "Oh, I always liked that one." The Doctor smiled and hummed along.

Then the music stopped and a tiny drawer opened inside the box. "Now look at that!" He pulled it open and got out a small, carefully folded piece of paper. On it, and in a very beautiful handwriting, was a short poem.

 _Dancing round and round_  
like a clock's old rusty hand.  
Wait for tea's sweat scent to stand.  
But back in bed you're found. 

"Hm..." The Doctor tilted his head at the note. "Is that a puzzle?" He looked at it from all angles and scanned it with his screwdriver. There was nothing special about the paper. He wanted to stand up again, but realized confused that he couldn't. Like his legs were frozen in position.

"Oh, come on!" He tore at his legs, but gave up rather quickly. At least he could sit down, but by no means was he able to change the position of his feet. Like he himself were stuck to the ground. Like... "Of course! Like the little ballerina!" Over and over again his eyes wandered over the little rhyme. "Mhmm... round and round... can I...?" He tried to rotate the small figurine manually and really, it was possible. "Okay... let's see. Round and round... two times maybe? Probably clockwise." Nothing happened. "Tea's sweet scent... tea is for afternoon..." He rotated the ballerina to where afternoon would be on a clock. "But back in be you're found... time going backwards maybe?"

As soon as the figure pointed upwards the Doctor's legs got freed. Quickly he jumped up and stepped away from the box. That had been easy. Too easy? Or maybe only easy for him? And was there more meaning to this puzzle than just being a trap? And if so, could the solution also help in finding a way out of here?

Pondering over those questions, the Doctor continued to search the lower floor. A tiny little bit more careful with what he touched though.

* * *

"Hey, shrimp!" The Master caught Roka at her collar while she was moving past him.

"Let go of me. And I have a name."

"It sounds stupid. Tell me... you're always reading those creepy pastas... was there anything useful in those?" Finally he let go and Roka turned around to the Master. So far they hadn't found anything up here. At least nothing else but dust and spider webs.

"Not really... those aren't true, you know." She sighed. "Let's go downstairs again."

Suddenly a whisper blew past their ears like a gust of wind. She felt the Master next to her wincing. Then it came again.

"What the heck is that? Show yourself, stupid alien!"

"I don't think it's something... natural", whispered Roka and with a deep satisfaction saw him shiver at her words.

Then it stopped as fast as it had started and the Master frantically pointed his laser at every shadow of the room. It was gone.

"You can't burn away ghosts" Roka said in a low and ominous voice. "They nest inside your mind, feeding on your darkest thoughts... I bet you are a feast to them with that head filled with delicious gloomy things."

He spun around to her, grabbing her throat and lifting her up a bit. "Will you stop that, you nasty little..."

"Kill me and... you're all alone with them", she croaked through his grip, smiling.

Grumbling he let her down again and without another word left towards the stairs. Roka followed him, rubbing her throat, but still smiling viciously and thinking about some nasty ways she could get a bit of revenge on him for all the mean things he was always doing.

After a while Roka started to wonder if there always had been that many stairs. She counted the steps, but always lost track at a certain number. How odd. But she wasn't alone in noticing it.

"What's that again..." The Master groaned. "Are we moving in a circle?"

"Hmm... In videogames it always helps to just go backwards instead of forwards."

"This is not a...", he started protesting, but stopped himself. "Whatever. It's not as if we're getting anywhere right now."

They went up the stairs again and really... now there was a door on the side. While steps were still leading up and down next to it. Roka couldn't remember having seen this on the first way up. And now it didn't matter how often they went up or down, they always ended at this door.

Of course it was locked.

"At least we came somewhat further." Roka scratched her head at the door. "Can you just blow it up?"

"Finally you're asking the right questions!" He shot a blast at the lock and the door swung open. "Ha, that was easy."

"Uhm... there is nothing inside." Roka stepped next to him squinting her eyes. "We should be careful when going in there."

"Well... then be." He nudged her inside.

She stumbled, but managed not to fall... only to look at a set of stairs to her feet again that led into the dark. Behind her were also stairs, leading up. The door was nowhere to be found. Great. She sighed annoyed and walked downwards... only to find the Master again, standing in front of the door that now was intact once more. He heard her steps and spun around.

"Oh, still alive. What a shame."

Roka sat down at the last stair, staring at the door. "What are we missing? There has to be something..." She looked around everywhere and suddenly her gaze fell on a white shimmer at the bottom of the door. Hastily she rushed towards it, picking it up. A small, neatly folded piece of paper. On it, in a rather pretty handwriting, a tiny poem.

"What's that?" The Master tore the paper out of her hands, reading it. "Great, a stupid rhyme." He dropped the paper to the floor and leaned his back and head against the wall.

Roka picked it up again.

 _Greet me from the black abyss_  
I open up to all there is,  
and all there was before,  
just for a single, gentle kiss.

"That really doesn't make a lot of sense..." She scratched her head. "On the other hand... I doubt it's here by accident. Seems like we're in some sort of space anomaly."

"Oh, really?" His voice was filled with annoyed sarcasm. "See? It's just an alien messing with us."

"Hey, I know you're smarter than I", she riled back. "But at least I try to get out of here."

"I too... shut up and let me think."

She leaned against the wall next to him, intensely running through everything they knew so far. Something was missing... She looked at the small piece of paper in her hand. There was nothing on its back and also nothing special about it. Apart from the very delicate handwriting. Probably from a woman. A lost love letter maybe? "I open up to all there is...", she repeated faintly. "...and all there was before..." Her head tilted a bit.

"Sounds like it would describe the door... but it leads nowhere." The Master replied slowly.

"The black abyss... could describe this anomaly. But what is meant by the last part..."

"What was that again?"

Roka repeated the whole poem and looked at the Master to see if he might get anything out of it, when suddenly a very unnerving realization hit her consciousness. His obviously too, because he frowned. "Don't even think..."

"Certainly not!" Roka looked away. After a while she said, "Every line in that poem is a metaphor... the last part has to be one too."

Some time passed and none of the two came to any conclusion. Roka sighed frustrated, walking up and down in front of the door. There had to be something, she thought, not for a second letting the obvious into her mind. "That's a stupid puzzle!" She kicked the door.

"Maybe... It's not a metaphor...?" The Master still stood leaned against the wall, chin in hand, thinking intensely.

"It has to be", Roka grumbled back. "I definitely won't... Let's just wait." She sat down on the stairs. "The Doctor will come looking sooner or later. I bet he knows what's to do."

"The bubble could be sealed though", the Master objected, still staring at the door. "Usually does... as soon as someone steps in." He shook his head, leaning back at the wall again.

Reading the paper over and over again, Roka stood up and started to once more pace the small piece of floor between the stairs.

"Well..." He grinned nastily. "Either trying or dying." Then he shrugged. "And certainly better than being trapped forever."

With a frustrated sigh, Roka kicked the door again, before she felt being grabbed at her collar and dragged backwards until she stood directly in front of the Master. He held her shoulder so tight she couldn't move without hurting herself.

"Don't you dare!" She threw a waspish look at him, then she looked away, to the door, and back again, sighing in frustration. "Of all things..." And when she saw his nasty grin, she mumbled, "At least... do it quickly."

The grin now faded as he leaned down to her. "Hey, that's the opposite of having fun." For a few seconds they just stared at each other, then he put a hand above her eyes. "Tch, I can't do that when you're staring at me like that." Roka suddenly felt her heart pounding like mad. He held her a little bit tighter and she felt him leaning down close to her face... His hand grabbed her chin to make her look up and... A loud noise rumbled from somewhere above. Steps came down towards them and he let go of her immediately.

A moment later the Doctor came down the stairs, his eyes widening when he saw the Master and again when he recognized Roka.

"There you are!" He came down, completely oblivious of the situation and stepped to the door. "Aha! Thought so! A space anomaly!" His sonic wandered over the wooden surface. "Just normal wood. How unfortunate."

Turning around the Doctor's gaze wandered back and forth between the two. "My, my, you two look like you climbed those stairs a few times too often. Everything alright?"

Roka nodded and the Master just gave him a very mean look.

"Huh... did something happen?"

"No!" Both answered simultaneously.

"Uhm... aaalright..." The Doctor said carefully. "Any hints how to open that door?"

Without a word Roka gave him the piece of paper. His eyes wandered along the lines and after a moment his face lit up. "Oh, that's an obvious one!"

Roka moved to the other end of the corridor, leaning against its wall with crossed arms. "I'll leave the rest up to  _you two_." she said in a sarcastic voice, while throwing a wicked gaze at the Master.

But the Doctor just stepped to the door and with a smile gave the old wood a smooch. Immediately the handle went down and the door opened smoothly, showing the familiar corridor of the lower floor. Still happy with himself he walked through the door, only to return a few moments later.

"Hey, don't you want to come?" He grinned at the two and vanished again.

 


	3. Ghosts?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are Time Lords afraid of ghosts?

Roka tried to stay near the Doctor when they made their way to the large living room

"At least there is a nice fireplace in here." The Doctor walked over to it. "Ah, a shame actually, but I guess it won't hurt anyone to use some of the old furniture."

Very happy about this opportunity the Master started to smash some chairs and threw the pieces into the fireplace, before lighting it up with a few shots of his laser screwdriver. Obviously very satisfied with himself he sat down into one of the arm chairs that stood in front.

The Doctor also wanted to sit down, but then he saw some movement in the corner of his eye and spun around. There in the shadows, where the light of the fire couldn't reach.

"I see it too", Roka whispered.

Now on edge the Master also looked in the direction and shot up again, wielding his laser. Then they heard steps and also some whispering voices.

"Whatever you are", The Doctor said calmly. "We mean no harm."

"We come in peace", added Roka, stretching a hand out and making the Vulcanian greeting sign with it.

"Don't provoke it!" The Master hissed.

And out of the shadow treat a small figure, slowly and carefully coming closer towards the three. Surprised they realized that it was... a little boy. Maybe around the age of seven or eight, with short blond hair. Curiously he stared at the trio then turned around, waving at the shadows. And a second boy stepped out, probably the same age, but with brown spiky hair instead.

"Oh great... brats."

"Now that's a surprise! Hello there, young ones." The Doctor crouched down and smiled at them. "What are  _you_  doing here?"

The boys looked at each other, a bit of fear was in their eyes and Roka carefully tread towards them, also crouching down. "We won't harm you." She smiled. "Do you live here?" The blond boy nodded and observed her, tilting his head a bit. He was absolutely cute, decided Roka.

"That's our place", answered the other boy carefully. He had a slightly roguish look in his eyes.

"So?" The Doctor observed the children. "There is not much more than dust here. Where are your parents?" They didn't react and just stared at him as if they were a bit afraid.

Roka tried it again. They seemed to trust her a bit more. "What are your names?" She asked smiling.

The boy in front of her looked up with big curious eyes. Something about them felt familiar. He smiled happily and pointed at the other kid. "He is Theta." Then he straightened his back, widening his smile. "I'm Koschei."

"Oh, that's a really pretty name. I like it." Roka answered cheerfully, now gently ruffling the boys hair. He still stared up to her with a smile.

When Roka turned around she saw two very perplex Time Lords standing behind her.

"What's wrong?"

"Err... weeell..." The Doctor started, while not letting the boys out of his sight.

"That's not possible." The Master added scowling with crossed arms. "Somehow it took our current regenerations and..."

"... shrunk them down..."

Roka stared from one to the other, then back to the children. "Huh? Wait..." And now she saw why that boy had looked so familiar. "No way! But they look so adorable!" She ignored the Master's mean gaze. "Uhm... does that mean...", she continued. "...those are your names?"

Both, Master and Doctor winced in union and looked at each other.

"I'm so going to rip this out of your memory, shrimp!"

"Well... just the short forms." The Doctor added slowly. Then a thought came to him. "Why are only we two here? There is no child version of you, Roka."

"Right... there isn't."

"What are you talking about?" The Master asked annoyed. "Are you blind? There she is." He pointed behind the boys and suddenly they saw a small girl, the same age, with short blond hair and a single spiky pigtail standing up from her head. She stared intensely at the Master, then at the Doctor, but never at Roka.

"So... that is how it feels to others." She mumbled. "But it seems like she can't see  _me_."

"Hey, mini shrimp!" The Master stared down to the girl and pointed at Roka. "Can you see her?"

The girl glanced towards Roka and looked intensely, but then she slowly shook her head, stepping closer to the Master to hide behind him. "Is she... a ghost?" She asked with big eyes, tugging at his jacket. "Ghosts are scaaaary."

He burst out into a laugh, making the girl jump, but not moving away. "That's hilarious." He grinned down. "And your name is?"

"Gin!" The girl answered with a smile.

Both men stared at Roka.

"Just a short form...", she mumbled. "Never liked that name..."

For a while no one said a word. Then little Koschei treat to Roka. "I decided you can stay at my mansion. But not for long!" he then nodded towards Theta and hand in hand they ran off.

Roka tilted her head. "That's... really cute. They hold hands." She felt a very cold and mean stare in her neck, but ignored it.

"Maybe it's another puzzle." The Doctor thought out loud. "Let's  follow them."

The children ran into a garden that once must have looked beautiful, but was now completely overgrown with shrubs and thorns. In the middle stood a fountain, no longer functioning and it's statues covered in ivy.

The boys stood in front of it and turned around, then froze in place, suddenly staring up to the moon.

"Oh." The Doctor made silently. "I bet they create a link to whatever got us here. Or they triangulate the location."

"But for that you would need three." Roka interposed.

"There  _are_  three." The Master laughed mean. "How daft is that. You forget your very self." He chuckled to himself.

It was strange to witness her own glitch on herself, but now that she got reminded, Roka could see and also remember the child again. It made her shiver to think about that everyone around her always experienced this.

But her thoughts got interrupted when a loud growl resounded through the ground. The same as it had come from the walls before. More a low vibration.

And the children's faces... melted. Their eyes and mouths became completely black and so much wider than it should be possible. All three stared at the visitors, jerking their heads from one side to the other.

Suddenly Roka felt all air pressed out of her lungs and she gasped.

"Master!" The Doctor exclaimed.

The pressure got less and she threw a very mean glance upwards. "Stop squeezing me, you chicken hearted idiot!"

"Nooo! They can eat you first!" But at least he didn't choke her anymore and Roka giggled at him.

"I don't think they want to eat any of us." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at them. "It's just a side effect of the calculation. Takes up too much power to retain their form properly..."

Something escaped out the black holes in the children's faces. It looked like smoke with the glimmer of quicksilver. Slowly it  fused together to a big cloud, swirled around the fountain and then rushed through the ground in the direction of the house. Shortly after the bodies of the children dissolved into tiny particles, swaying away with the wind.

"Ah!" The Doctor exclaimed. "I know what it did!" He stepped up and down in front of the fountain. "It needed the DNA of 3 separate individuals. But it couldn't communicate with us. So instead it just made... hm... copies."

"Screw that shit!" The Master let go of Roka and grabbed the Doctor's tie. "Get us out of here, you bragging bastard."

"Oh, look at that." The Doctor smiled happily. "Are you asking me for help, old friend?"

"NO! I ORDER YOU!" He screamed at the Doctor's face.

Roka tapped the Master's arm and he spun around to throw a mean glance at her.

"What?!"

She pointed towards the door. Both men turned towards it and saw the foggy silhouette of a woman in antique clothing standing in there. "I so wish I had an EMF meter now." Roka sighed, looking at the apparition. "Or a infrared camera. Or at least something to record EVPs!"  
  
The Master poked her head, complaining, "You're way too excited about that. That thing could eat you!"  
  
"But I could be the first to record a real ghost!" She glared at him. "Don't tell me that isn't exciting."  
  
"It's not!" Folding his arms he looked away. "You can''t kill them, so I don't want them around me."

The Doctor had moved closer to the  _ghost_ , that just floated there, not moving. He pointed his Sonic at it and raised his eyebrows. Roka stepped beside him.

"I don't get any readings... maybe it's a hologram."

"Oh, Doctor. Don't spoil the fun." Roka giggled. "Let's just say it's a ghost." And a bit lower she added, "Just to spook the Master a bit more."

Both grinned at each other.

"What are you two plotting there? And what's with that... thing!" The Master pointed towards the ghost, before deciding otherwise and pointing his laser at it. "Take that!" He shot a beam, but it just went right through it.

"Yep, totally a spooky ghost." Roka said grinning.

"And it seems it want us to follow." The Doctor added.

"No way! I'm staying right here!"

"Alright, Master." The Doctor turned around. "Then watch out for anything unusual here and if anything creepy happens... well... uhm... hide somewhere?"

"Oi! I'm not a coward!" He stared at the other man in anger, then his eyes darted back and forth between the ghost and the Doctor. "Ugh! Whatever. Your ugly face is still better than... that!"


	4. The nightmare

"I thought you've already searched the basement, Doctor!" The Master stared flabbergasted at the other Time Lord.

"Just peeked in. It was too dark to see anything and the lights don't work."

"The ghost definitely floated down there..." Roka took a look through the kitchen. "Ha, thought so. There are candles." She handed some to everyone. "Good old spook mansions. never disappoint one."

"I'll go first!" The Doctor lit his candle and opened the door to stick his head through. "Ohhh... that's some steep steps. Get it? Steep steps... steps steep..." He turned around with a grin.

"Ugh, stop the nonsense." The Master rolled his eyes and pushed the Doctor forwards.

Then he grabbed Roka and pushed her down too, before following last.

Down there was an old rusty machine of unknown origin and purpose. It was a bit bigger than a human and oval shaped, with eerily green glowing wires sticking out. The Doctor was bustlingly scanning every little detail with his Sonic Screwdriver, giving off some surprised and amused noises here and there.

Roka took a look at the dark corners, where she found some crates with old abandoned stuff. Photos of children and some of a woman that suspiciously looked like the 'ghost'. Some old clothes and furniture, a music box that couldn't be opened anymore, some books and...

"Yesss!" she squealed and picked up the dusty Ouija board. There even was a matching planchette.

"What's that?" The Master ripped it out of her hands and turned it all around. "Is that a game?"

"Something like that." Roka chuckled. "It is said that you can speak with the dead with it. But it's dangerous. Demons come through those boards very easily."

"Demons... as if." He grinned down to her, but then took on a thoughtful look. "Although... could be handy. My own army of devilish creatures. All under my command." A grin wandered to the board. "Let's try this!"

"They would just eat you. Especially knowing how much you fear them."

"Pfff, I'm not scared!" He protested.

The Doctor came back, still glaring at his Sonic. "I think I know what the machine does. The children from before created a link between our energy signatures and this machine." He tapped against his chin and his gaze fell upon the board. "Ohhhh, I heard of those!"

The Master turned away. "It's mine! And I'm going to use it. And then I will release those things onto earth." He laughed wickedly.

"Uhm, Master..." The Doctor started carefully.

"Shut up! You can't stop me!"

"Do you remember the incident on Hemitrol Alpha? They tried the same... and... well, you know how that ended."

Roka glared at him. "How?"

"Weeell..." The Doctor hesitated. "Bloody. To this day it is unknown what actually happened there. But one of this boards was found in a room, circled by candles... that still burned." He whispered the last words with a wink.

Her eyes widened and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"So what? I am their Master, they will obey my command!" He giggled and sat the board to the floor. "How does it work though?"

There are times where one has to make decisions, and deciding between keeping quiet and holding a séance with the Master was very, very easy.

Roka slumped down next to him and put the planchette on the board. She also nodded towards the Doctor to join them, although he was still looking not very convinced.

"As long as we end it properly, we should be safe." She explained happily. "Everyone has to place a finger on the planchette. Just touching it. No one moves it on their own."

"That's stupid."

"Oh, I see..." The Doctor tilted his head and put a finger down. "It creates an energy field and if there is something around it can just use it to move the planchette, right?" He sounded excited all of a sudden. "Maybe we can contact the alien here that way. It seems to be trapped in a not-quiet-pocket-dimension thingy."

"We have to ask it questions... ready?" She looked at the two Time Lords and both nodded, both looking excited. Both for  _very_  different reasons.

"Are there any...  _anyone_  here that wants to talk?" Roka asked.

Nothing happened.

"That was to be expected." The Master said disappointed. "Oi! Anything dangerous here?! And if so, you're under my command now!"

The Doctor just wanted to say something, but he didn't get the chance. The air suddenly got thick and a feeling of threat built up all around them. Then the planchette moved below their fingers. It moved jittering towards different letters.

T-R-Y-M-E

The Master giggled and glanced to Roka. "Very funny."

But she stared flabbergasted at the board. "That... wasn't me."

Both stared at the Doctor, but he declined too. Then the planchette moved again.

G-I-V-E-M-E-T-H-Y-S-T-R-E-N-G-T-H

"Maaaybe, we should end this already." The Doctor suggested, doubt in his voice.

"Don't be a spoiler, Doctor. Your human said we're safe, so let's have fun with this thing." His eyes were glinting in the candle light. "What are you? Species, age, origin. In that order."

The air grew heavier and Roka suddenly wasn't so sure if they really weren't in any danger. It was one thing to play with some imaginary ghosts... but a completely different when it came to aliens. The board spilled out some more words.

R-E-A-P-E-R

E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y

V-O-I-D

Roka jerked away from the planchette. This wasn't funny anymore. The Doctor gave her a look that asked if anything was alright and she nodded. The Master stared blankly at the board, eyebrows raised. Then his lips slowly curved into a very nasty grin.

"Is that so?" He asked amused. "Well, having death as my pet could be fun."

"Uhm, Master..." The Doctor nodded towards the machine. It had started to glow at several of its parts and gave off a slight hum. "I think we activated it."

"We should end this." Roka said slowly, very much disliking the still present grin on the Master's face. "This is not the reaper."

"And how do  _you_  know, shrimp?" The Time Lord gave her an eye roll.

"I... just do."

She quickly reached towards the planchette and slid it to 'Good Bye' at the bottom.

"Hey!" The Master threw a venomous look at her and already reached out to do whatever mean thing he planned for her, but the air grew incredibly cold all of a sudden and the hum from the machine turned into a buzzing.

All three looked at the oval metal that now bent and huffed and started to emit smoke. A small hatch on the front opened and out came a beastly thing. A lump of ever moving slimy tentacles and countless eyes that slid towards them. All of the Doctor's attempts to speak to the creature failed and with every move it made it seemed to grow and the air got colder.

It lasted only for another few seconds before the Master sprang up and shot a constant laser beam right into the lump of tentacles. It fizzed and coiled, but came ever so closer.

The Doctor slide along the wall and tried to deactivate the machine with his sonic, but it seemed to have no effect.

And Roka... for once in her life she just hid behind the Master, hoping his destructive attempts would be successful. She was a fearless person, but being eaten by a lovecraftian nightmare wasn't exactly what she had dreamed off.

Her gaze fell upon the ghostly hologram of the woman again, that was floating behind her. Roka looked up into her face.

"You lead us here. What shall we do?"

The woman pointed towards the Master's laser screwdriver, then towards herself and smiled. And Roka had a hunch what she could mean.

"Master!"

"I'm busy!"

"Say, yes!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" Roka pleaded.

"Fine... yes!"

The woman smiled and floated in front of the Master, who cursed at her sudden appearance. Then she touched his shoulder and the beam from his laser got so bright it hurt to look at it. At the same time the Doctor's Sonic finally fried the machine.

A glaring light filled the basement, followed by a loud bang.

Then it went silent and the temperature slowly started to raise again. In the middle of the room lay the creature, now dead and mostly melted into a stinking plastic looking substance.

"Thank you." The voice of the woman echoed through the room.

All three looked out for the lady and she appeared again, hovering over the creature now, a warm smile on her face.

"This nightmare has prevented me from leaving this world. It feeds of dreams and fears."

The Doctor tread closer to her. "Have you put the riddles into the traps?" He asked curiously.

"I did. It would have trapped you otherwise. It's hard for me to manipulate things, but you three have such a strong energy, it allowed me to finally move again. And help you in return."

"But wait..." Roka also came closer. "A nightmare? How can this be? We are real and awake, aren't we?"

"Uhm, I think we might actually be sleeping." The Doctor pondered with his chin in hand. "Was wondering the whole time how we got here, but that would make sense. The nightmare dragged us inside this dream that is like a pocket dimension and is not, you understand?"

"Not even a bit."

"That..." The Master finally spoke, pale as the ghost in front of him. "...she's not alien!" He exclaimed, pointing at her. "She's a..."

"Ghooooost!" Roka giggled.

"And now I'm allowed to leave this place. Thanks to you."

The ghostly lady gave them all her warmest smile and slowly faded away.

* * *

 

All three awoke at the same time, back to where they had fallen asleep.

The Master yawned and wondered why he even nodded away in the first place. That usually didn't happen too often. And what had been this this strange... strange... no, he couldn't remember.

Roka jerked away on the sofa and turned around a few times, wanting to shake the weird feeling her last dream had left inside her. Something about a house? Or was it... no, it was already gone.

The Doctor blinked a few times at the faint light from the reading lamp next to him. Had he slept? How unusual. But sitting around all day could make someone tired. It also felt as if he actually had dreamed, which was even weirder.

And in this night of Halloween, where the veil is thin and bridle, three dreams, that actually were just one, faded into oblivion.


End file.
